


Pain

by Independence1776



Category: The Avengers (2012), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-05
Updated: 2013-05-05
Packaged: 2017-12-10 11:30:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/785573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Independence1776/pseuds/Independence1776
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Even in Asgard, Loki can't avoid punishment from Thanos.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pain

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2012 [](http://hc-bingo.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://hc-bingo.livejournal.com/)**hc_bingo**. My card was rather uninspirational, and this was the only story I wrote that I liked well enough to post. (Plus, I needed something for amnesty.)

“How is he?” Thor said, glancing at the closed door.

The healer said, “He had a good morning. Only one incident, and it was less than a minute in length.”

Thor winced. Good periods were always followed by terrible ones. He honestly wasn’t sure if he preferred Loki in constant low-level pain or with the good-and-bad bouts. Either way, he suffered. But at least with the low-level pain, he could still do things, could still talk. With the acute pain… Thor sighed and opened the door. It was only a matter of time before Thanos resumed his attack on Loki.

Thor slipped into the bare room and shut the door behind him. A low table stood against one wall, one chair tucked underneath it and a lone book on top. The only other furnishing was the narrow bed Loki lay on, curled up underneath a thick, down-stuffed, wool comforter. He’d lost so much weight since Thanos’ punishment began he had trouble keeping warm, and no one dared risk any open flame near him.

In pain or not, Loki was still a dangerous criminal.

Loki lifted his head off his pillow when Thor dragged the chair to Loki’s bedside. “Don’t you ever tire of visiting me?”

“Never.”

Loki sighed and shifted, so he lay on his back. He ran fingers over his shorn head, hair no longer shoulder-length but kept short enough that he couldn’t pull it out in a futile attempt at minimizing the pain. He’d done that too often at first, always unknowingly. He moved his fingers to the collar around his throat that kept his magic contained. Cuffs on his wrists would have been kinder, made him feel less like a beast in captivity, but the healers warned against it; their restraints would be less effective. (Thor couldn’t help but remember how easily he’d slipped out of the ones in the hospital on Midgard. He thought a similar reason was likely, though the healers never told him so.)

“Did you have a pleasant morning?”

Loki rolled his eyes. “Answering inane questions is always _so_ entertaining. You know as well as I do that once I have nothing left to tell, I will be discarded.” Loki grimaced. “And yet I must balance that against my revenge on those who thought they controlled me.”

Thor said nothing. That was something he would have to word for the Avengers very carefully, especially for Hawkeye’s sake. No, Loki had not been under mind control. But there were other ways to ensure obedience. And even then, Loki-- as always-- had his own agenda. Thor still wasn’t sure where the line between the Chitauri’s and Loki’s actions lay.

Loki finally looked over at Thor. “What do you want?”

“To spend time with my brother.” Ignoring Loki’s huff of disgust, he continued, “Would you prefer to rest?”

Loki nodded and rolled back onto his side, tucking his hands under his pillow. “We both know what is coming.”

“Would you like me to read to you?”

“That would be acceptable.”

Thor reached over, grabbed the thick book from the table, and opened it to the bookmark, where he’d left off the last time. As he began reading, Loki closed his eyes, a small smile on his face.

It wasn’t to last.

Fifteen pages later, Loki hissed, head pushing into his pillow as if the soft pressure would help. Thor put the bookmark back in, slid the book onto the table, and leaned forward. “Loki?”

Loki opened his eyes, tears of pain already welling in them. “The medicine.”

Thor swallowed past the lump in his throat and reached out to squeeze Loki’s shoulder. “I’ll be right back.”

There was always a healer nearby, and one look at Thor’s face sent him hurrying away and returning swiftly, carrying a full cup. They went back to Loki, who was outright whimpering now but still coherent enough to sit upright and reach for the cup. He drained it, returned it to the healer (who set it on the table), and sank back down onto his pillow. The whimpers gradually tapered off, and the lines of pain on Loki’s face disappeared. Once Thor was sure Loki was asleep, he tucked the comforter around his brother, let the healer take his place in the chair, and left the room. Thor sighed as he exited the secure ward of healing rooms, heading to the practise courts. He wished he could do more, but he could not neglect his duties. The healers would keep watch over Loki for now.


End file.
